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Published: September 25th 2006
Night in with friends
At back: Sheila, Pablo
Front: Iva, Ali, Pablo's girlfriend from america, meIt was independance day in Costa Rica today. And a very peaceful independance it was too. Flag displays and school children marching down the street at night with lanterns and playing drums. Independance was peacefully declared for Central America by Guatemala (i think it was), and Costa Rica has not had an army for the last 50 years, so the country has an incredibly peaceful feeling (There is even a university of peace!). Just imagine how much money they save on military which they are able to put into education and health etc. No wonder ticos are well educated with good social systems, even if they don't have much for development.
We have fallen in love with so many people in Santa Teresa (and other places in Costa Rica!). i know you guys won't get the feeling of the place from my bad descriptions and photos, but can I describe a few of the great personalities that add to the atmosphere of the place? That way you might understand why when I don't come back to NZ but return to Costa Rica... 😊
- Juan (argentinian) the Brunela Hostel owner - acts like a dad to us, always
Sophia
With Daddy and doggies kind and thoughtful and always cracking jokes and telling Ali 'remember you have a boyfriend, now i want you home by 12'
- Alejandro (argentinian) a long term Brunela resident - if Juan is like a dad, Alejandro is like the uncle! he's a lot of fun, and always up for a party
- Fernando (uruguayian) - also a long term Brunela guy, sells real estate in Santa Teresa but luckily has a high regard for wildlife. He's the quiet, considerate guy. Plays poker with Juan almost all day every day!
- Pablo and Ismael (uruguayians) - run the convenience store up the road and live at brunela. Give us discounts all the time! They're both really good surfers and really fun to chill out with. Ismael is the heartbreaker (for obvious reasons) but is a really good guy as a friend and we hope to catch up with him again when we reach uruguay.
- Iva the tica!! - my favourite costa rican chick, Iva is always holidaying in Santa Teresa while she studies to be a nutritionist in the city. She hopes to move here soon. Probably the best person to keep an eye
Dennis
Rasta man out for you when the ticos descend on the dancefloor!
- My tico amigos (Kalor, Jeffrey, Dennis, Danny) - the most fun to chill at the beach and play cards with, these guys live and work in Santa Teresa, in amongst all the surfing. Sorry I only have pics of Dennis and Danny.
- The beautiful surfer chicks who work at funky surf shop 'Tuanis.' They are so lovely to sit and chat with and are very good on the bongo drums
- The kiwi contingent! - a great group of older guys (and one chick) who left NZ for the good costa rican lifestyle. They always look out for us and play kiwi music whenever we're in their stores or juice bar!
- Davide, Davide, Peppe and Alessandro (italians) - we spent a great few days with these crazy lifeguards from italy. Ofcourse they were the best cooks in the world and would share their pasta dishes with us hungry, poor kiwis!
- Mario the cake man who walks around the hostels every evening and sells pieces of cake from a wicker basket
- Josh the american surfer who works at the internet cafe and can
Danny and Me
Danny had hair down to his waist till a few days ago. He's still lamenting the loss! talk the hind leg off a donkey complaining about not getting to surf all day
- Goofie the black labrador 😊. Goofie loves everyone and everyone loves him - he's the town dog. Dogs are allowed everywhere here, even in the bars so he has plenty of opportunity to socialise.
- Sophie the toddler. Fearless and friendly, sophie loves to visit people with her mum, splash in the surf with dad and play on the beach with the dogs.
Ok sorry if that was boring for you guys, it was mostly for my benefit! I hope to update this blog with more photos of each person listed so you can see them all. -
i know what you're probably thinking... wow catherine's more of a people person than we thought! well yes, I am now that there are such great people absolutely everywhere
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